As you're contemplating going skydiving, you will have to choose whether you will go for a solo jump or a tandem jump. Skydiving is not just a simple experience – jumping out of an airplane, free falling, and then drifting safely to ground takes some training, and so the experiences of solo or tandem jumping are very different from each other.

A solo jump is appealing in many ways. Jumping alone gives many people more of an adrenaline rush – which some people like. Also, you can brag to your friends that you did a solo jump. But most first time skydiving novices have a tandem jump first. Why would this be?

Tandem First? Why You Should Plan For That

First of all, you must work within the limits of the company you are jumping with. For many companies, they require your first skydiving jump to be tandem. After you've had a few of those, you can learn the added skills to be allowed to jump solo. Why do they have rules like this? Solo skydiving takes many additional skills and experience, and many companies protect themselves by enforcing this rule.

Taking a tandem jump for your first skydive requires much less training than doing a solo jump. As it is, ground school can take up to six hours or more – and that's time spent before you get into the airplane, learning how to buckle, unbuckle, load the 'chute and pull the rip cord. They'll also teach you how to push out of the plane and how to land as you finish your ride. If you are doing a solo jump, everything that happens is up to you – whereas with a tandem partner, you can expect them to handle part of the challenging aspects.

Hand in hand with less training is the fact that a tandem skydiving jump is much less expensive than a solo jump. Solo jumps are of greater liability, and thus cost the company more money. They past this cost along to you, the customer after the thrill.

If you have a tandem skydiving partner for your jump, knowing they will handle the "heavy lifting" of the jump can give you some peace of mind. Skydiving will still be a thrilling adventure, but for most people, they appreciate being able to trust someone else with remembering all the details of how to have a successful jump. There are enough details without having to do it all yourself!